What is a Sponsorship Appeal?
A Canadian citizen and permanent resident (PR) can sponsor certain family members. If you are successful in your sponsorship, the family member will become a PR.
To learn more about sponsorship, please visit our Service page.
However, if your sponsorship is refused, you may have an opportunity to have the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) review it. This process is called sponsorship appeal.
The appeal determines whether your sponsorship should be allowed.
Should I appeal or submit another sponsorship application?
Note that appeal is not the only solution for a refusal decision. If there were some simple errors, and you can easily amend them, it might be better to submit a new application.
However, it is not always a good idea to re-submit an application when there are serious issues. For example, when the family member is inadmissible to Canada, or the sponsor is not eligible.
If you are unsure about how to proceed, we can help you.
Can I appeal?
Generally speaking, if you are an eligible sponsor, you may have the right to appeal.
You do not have the right to appeal if the family member is not under the “Family Class” even if you are an eligible sponsor. The most common scenario is that you sponsor your spouse or common law partner via an “inland sponsorship”.
Further, you do not have the right to appeal if the sponsored family member is inadmissible due to one of the following reasons:
Security,
Violation of human or international rights,
Serious criminality,
Organized criminality, or
Misrepresentation.
Note that if the sponsored family member has serious criminality in Canada, you have the right to appeal where their jail time is less than 6 months.
Further, you have the right to appeal if you sponsor your spouse or common-law partner, or child who is inadmissible due to misrepresentation.
Last but not least, only the sponsor can appeal. In other words, the sponsored family member can’t appeal.
If you can’t determine whether you have the right to appeal, we can help you.
What if I can’t appeal?
If you don’t have the right to appeal, then your sponsorship is final. However, the decision is still subject to Judicial Review if it has an error of law or fact. Note that Judicial Review is not available for everyone.
Further, depending on the reason for the refusal, there might be other solutions.
For example, if your family member has a criminal record, you may consider a Record Suspension
or Criminal Rehabilitation.
If you need help to solve your issues, please contact us.
How to appeal?
To initiate the appeal, you must send a Notice of Appeal (NOA) to the IRB’s Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) within 30 days from the date of the decision.
What is the Sponsorship Appeal like?
Firstly, it is similar to a hearing in court. A penal which usually consists of one decision-maker will hear the appeal in person.
Secondly, you must attend the hearing. If you have a representative, they must also attend. The hearing is usually public.
Further, you need to prove that your sponsorship should be allowed. You can also give statements and evidence including witnesses at the hearing.
Thirdly, the counsel of IRCC may also attend the hearing. However, if the case is straightforward, they may just send a written submission to the penal instead of attending the hearing in person.
We can also represent you at the hearing.
Last but not least, when the IRB believes your appeal may be solved without a hearing, they will ask you to attend an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) conference. The ADR conference is private.
Can I apply Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C) grounds to my appeal?
The IAD has the power to consider H&C grounds. Therefore, it is always a good idea to present your H&C factors. Where your H&C factors are enough and strong, the IAD will allow your sponsorship application. This means you will no longer need to directly solve the reasons for your refusal.
Where applicable, the IAD will consider both yours and your sponsored family member’s H&C factors.
However, you can’t request an H&C consideration if the family relationship is not genuine. For example, your spouse entered the marriage with you solely for obtaining immigration status.
To learn more about H&C, please visit our Service.
What are the possible outcomes of a Sponsorship Appeal?
After the hearing, the IAD may allow your appeal. This means your family member will become a PR.
The IAD also may dismiss your appeal. If this is your case, you can either look for other solutions to the inadmissible issues or Judicial Review.
Sponsorship and LGBT immigration
Many LGBTQ people wish to move to Canada either for work or study. They will want to become permanent residents. If they have a spouse or partner who is a Canadian citizen or PR, they may consider a sponsorship.
Further, for some of the LGBTQ individuals, sponsorship is an ideal process because it does not require the sponsored spouse or partner’s work experience, education, or English skills.
Note that you sponsor your same sex, another sex, or non-binary spouse or common law partner.
Book a consultation today, we can help you with your questions.
What do we do?
We work with LGBTQ people and help with their journey to Canada. At LegalRoots, client experience is what we care about. We also create a safe and friendly place for those who wish to discuss their matters with us freely.
Book an initial assessment today or contact us directly.
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